ABOUT THAT PIPELINE...
NEIGHBORS PACK MEETING TO SHOW CONCERN OVER MARINER EAST 2 PLAN
ASTON » More than 75 individuals packed a pipeline awareness forum held Thursday night at Northley Middle School to hear detailed technical and safety information on the Mariner East 2 Pipeline – and also to voice their concerns.
Hosted by the community group Protect PennDelco, the forum featured a panel consisting of Seth Kovnat, a structural engineer; Bernie Greenberg of the Sierra Club; Eve Miari, founding member of the Middletown Coalition for Community Safety; and state Rep. Leanne KruegerBraneky, D-161, of Swarthmore. Penn-Delco Superintendent of Schools Dr. George Steinhoff was also on-hand and addressed questions pertaining to school safety as it relates to potential pipeline issues.
Construction of the $2.5 billion, 350-mile Sunoco Logistics Mariner East 2 Pipeline is currently underway in various Chester and Delaware County communities, including Middletown and Aston townships. The pipeline begins at the site of Marcellus Shale drilling in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio and will end at the Sunoco Logistics refinery in Marcus Hook. When finished the pipeline will deliver hundreds of thousands of barrels of Marcellus Shale products such as ethane, propane and butane to the Delaware County site, where it will be stored for shipping to customers both domestic and international. Proponents, including labor unions and the chamber of commerce, say it could make Marcus Hook the energy hub for the entire Northeast U.S. But the plans have hit consistent concerns about safety from residents in the path of construction.
Principal concerns center around safety, in particular materials that will be transported and the fact that the pipeline passes in close proximity to schools, homes and businesses.
“My goal is to present reality in the case of a largescale release and the timing associated,” said Kovnat, who is employed by a local aerospace company. “I don’t expect local councils and boards of commissioners to know the physics involved, but I do expect them to find somebody who does and can explain it properly.”
Kovnat said it has been his experience that community officials have employed attorneys in their dealings with Sunoco Logistics, and not individuals who are educated in dangerous materials.
The pipeline will carry Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) consisting of artificially liquefied ethane, propane, and butane, which, according to Kovnat, is highly combustible. He said the consequences of a leak are astronomical.
“There are over 15 kilotons TNT energy within the eight-mile segment between valve stations, Kovnat said. “The pipeline’s liquids designation, that gives much of the oversight to the states, coupled with severe underregulation of pipelines in Pennsylvania, has made it possible and even encouraged Sunoco to use existing rights of way designated for petroleum. This is an extremely irresponsible route for an NGL pipeline through many densely populated areas of the state that simply would not be allowed if the state actually had a sitting authority.”
He claimed that Sunoco and its parent company, Energy Transfer Partners have the worst leak record in the industry, averaging more than two leaks per month in the past 10 years.
Sunoco Logistics has repeatedly assured residents of Delaware County and other areas involved that the pipeline is equipped with shutoff valves that will automatically activate in the case of a leak. Sunoco has also cited an independent report, commissioned by West Goshen Township in Chester County, that Mariner East 2 meets or exceeds federal requirements for pipeline safety.
Miari, of the Middletown Coalition for Pipeline Safety, said her group is not anti-pipeline in general. However, she quickly pointed out, in her opinion Mariner East 2 is not an average pipeline.
“When we first started out, we didn’t know how we felt about this pipeline,” Miari said. “We were a bit concerned that this thing was going near Glenwood School (on Route 452 in Middletown). It took a little time to do some research until we decided that we are not in favor of having it in this particular location. Our concern is around safety, specifically to its route and location as well as improper setbacks. “We are in favor of public safety and advocating for change.”
Miari listed the things the group, which has 3,000 members, has done since its
inception, including meeting with DEP officials and commissioning an independent analysis of what would happen in a worstcase scenario. The group also is currently supporting legal action in Middletown and West Goshen dealing with claims of residents in terms of setbacks along the pipeline path.
She said an Elwyn facility, which has a vulnerable population, is located at 1 Judy Way in Aston, which is 225 feet from the pipeline. She also mentioned that the Brookhaven Swim Club is 1,000 feet, the Aston-Middletown Little League field is 880 feet from the structure, and the pipeline is located directly behind Linvilla Orchards.
“We get scared as parents thinking about our children playing in such close proximity to this pipeline taking into consideration the pressure and content,” she said.
Krueger-Braneky mentioned there has yet to be a public hearing in Delaware County in reference to Mariner East 2.
“As an elected official that represents this area it quickly became my job to listen,” KruegerBraneky said. “People are losing part of their properties and farms and I don’t think that’s right ... The problem I have is that there are gaps and there is nobody in Pennsylvania that looks at these projects ahead of time.”
Krueger-Braneky said if the pipeline was crossing state lines from Pennsylvania to New Jersey for example, that a federal body exists to review its location and sign off on it. She said because Mariner 2 East is an intrastate pipeline, traversing the length of Pennsylvania, no one has the authority.
“The DEP has authority over air and water quality,” she said. “Also, permits were signed off on that were not permitted to be reviewed. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) can look at safety issues, but only after the project has started. Nobody looks at projects like this and says ahead of time maybe it’s not a good idea to put this 600 feet from an elementary school.”
Sister Kathleen Parisi, OSF, expressed concern over the number of people located on the campus of Neumann University, at her order’s Mother house as well as Assisi House, where retired and ill sisters reside.
“It’s not fair for rescuers because it’s an impossible situation,” she said. “Why are we calling it a safety plan if its not going to function?”
Parisi said the sisters are devoted to earth education and suggested that such a pipeline is regression instead of progress. “Why is such a pipeline being put in place when we should be thinking solar panels and clean energy?” Parisi asked.
A Brookhaven resident questioned Steinhoff about school safety. The superintendent said the district practices an allhazard approach.
“The state is recognizing that fires in schools are no longer the only hazards, and that we need to be practicing other drills as well,” Steinhoff said. “We did take steps to train our staff and are paying close attention. Our goal is to be as prepared as we possibly can.”
Steinhoff said issues will be discussed and reviewed during in-service days as well as with the district’s bus drivers, who are critical to safety.